The first dog I groomed was a sweet red setter Spaniel, called Hayleene. I was 8 years old; I saw her out roaming one day, so I led her into my backyard and took all the matted knots out of her coat with my mum’s hairdressing scissors, I wasn’t exactly proud of that haircut. But I knew she felt better.

At 17 I became an apprentice hairdresser. I opened up a salon at 24 and enjoyed this creative industry for the next 20 years.

In my late 30s, I found a passion for dog training and dog sport. Dog agility became my everything. I competed with my first bearded collie, Ted. It was during this time that I decided to train to become a dog groomer. It wasn’t enough to groom dogs, I needed to learn how to groom them to a higher level. I joined the NDGA NZ and started attending workshops and seminars. In 2014 I began studying and training towards my master groomer qualifications. In 2018, I became Hawkes Bay’s first and only Nationally Certified Master Groomer (NCMG). In 2023 I attended a two-week creative grooming workshop in Malaysia specialising in Asian Fusion Style grooming. I continue to upskill and grow in this amazing creative industry.